Tagged: buoy 46012

Here’s a look at the real-time wave reports from Half Moon Bay (@buoy46012) yesterday. Solid 15-second swell energy in the 12-15 foot range. Throw some light winds into the mix and this is what you get.

Buoy Alarm is a resource for ocean enthusiasts and we’re very close to launching. If personalized real-time alarms, access to historical surf conditions, and a detailed swell forecast interest you, we encourage you to join our invite list.

The long-range model is subject to revision, but the forecast for Half Moon Bay is currently showing swell conditions approaching 23 feet at 15 seconds (WNW 292°) by Saturday afternoon (1/21).

We’ll be keeping an eye on the models to see how this swell develops over the next few days.

January 19th Update: Swell Sightly Downgraded

The swell is a bit smaller than initially forecast, with swell conditions at @buoy46006 now expected to peak Friday afternoon at 29 feet at 13 seconds (W 266°). The Half Moon Bay buoy is expected to build rapidly on Saturday and peak in the evening at 21 feet at 14 seconds (WNW 290°).

Did you know you can subscribe to buoy observations via text message? Simply text “follow buoy51201” to 40404 to begin receiving text message updates from the Waimea Bay buoy. The best part about SMS updates is that you don’t need a fancy smart-phone to stay current with your favorite stations.

TL;DR: Quick Start Cheat Sheet

These examples use the Waimea Bay station, which has the Twitter username buoy51201. Text messages should be sent to 40404, which is Twitter’s shortcode.

Receive Reports: “follow buoy51201”

Disable Reports: “off buoy51201”

Enable Reports: “on buoy51201”

Latest Report: “get buoy51201”

Here’s how you can receive real-time buoy reports via text message, with a little help from Twitter’s SMS service.

Receive All Reports From a Station

Let’s say you’d like to receive reports via text message from the Half Moon Bay buoy, which has a station ID of 46012 and the Twitter username buoy46012. To begin receiving updates simply text “follow buoy46012” to 40404.

You will receive a confirmation that you are “now following @buoy46012” along with the most recent report from the buoy. When new observations become available, they’ll be sent directly to your phone.

Disable / Enable Station Reporting

If you’d like to stop receiving updates from a station, simply text “off buoy46012” to 40404. To begin receiving them again, text “on buoy46012” to 40404.

These commands are handy for managing text message subscriptions for individual stations. If you’d like to enable or disable text messaging entirely (if you’re subscribed to multiple stations for example), text “on” or “off” to 40404 respectively.

Get Only the Latest Report

Say you’re only interested in the latest report from a station, and don’t want a stream of text messages flooding your phone every 30 to 60 minutes. The “get” command allows you to only receive the most recent report from a station.

For example, to receive the latest report from the Half Moon Bay buoy you’d text “get buoy46012” to 40404.

Notes

Please note that all these commands require the use of the buoy’s Twitter username, which follows the convention “buoyXXXXX” where XXXXX is the station’s 5-character NDBC ID.

There is no limit to the number of stations you can follow. To subscribe to additional buoys, replace “buoy46012” in the examples above with your favorite station’s Twitter username.

The first big WNW swell of the season is forecast to arrive on Thursday, with swell conditions peaking at 11 feet at 15 seconds (WNW 302°). Look for the incoming swell to appear in the real-time reports (@buoy46012) sometime late Wednesday to early Thursday, as it quickly builds overnight before slowly fading into the weekend.

An even bigger WNW pulse is expected next Tuesday, with the long-range forecast showing swell conditions of 13 feet at 15 seconds. Keep an eye on the Half Moon Bay forecast to see how this swell develops over the next few days.

It’s still not officially winter, but the North Pacific’s summer slumber is officially over. The first big swell of the 2011-2012 winter season is making its way towards the Pacific Northwest with enough size to test your summer training regimen.

Washington and Oregon will receive the brunt of the energy, with surf heights building rapidly throughout Wednesday and peaking in the 16 feet at 15 seconds range (WNW 283°). shows the swell peaking

The Stonewall Banks (@buoy46050) forecast also shows a large, moderate-period swell on Monday (10 feet at 12 seconds WNW 286°), which might provide a good opportunity to dust off the gun before Wednesday.

Further south, the Half Moon Bay forecast shows the swell peaking early Thursday morning in Northern California, with swell conditions of 12 feet at 15 seconds (WNW 301°). Long-period forerunners in the 17-second range are expected to appear in the real-time reports (@buoy46012) by Wednesday evening.

Hawaii will also see some action from this swell, however it will primarily be sideband energy, and thus wave heights will not be as big. The Waimea Bay forecast shows surf heights building through the day on Wednesday, reaching about 5 feet at 13 seconds (NNW 340°) by nightfall, then tapering off slowly into the weekend.

The Jay at Mavericks will not be happening, but there will be extra-large surf in Northern California this weekend. A new WNW swell builds quickly Friday, peaking early Saturday morning at 12.1 feet at 17.7 seconds (290°).

A second WNW pulse is forecast to arrive on Wednesday the 26th, with solid 16-second energy (8.5 feet at 16.4 seconds 292° as of 10:00 a.m.). The current forecast calls for consistent large to extra-large surf from Saturday through next weekend.

Here’s a shot of Mavericks this morning by Luke Kilpatrick. The Half Moon Bay buoy was hovering around 15 feet at 19 seconds mid-morning, but the swell period looks to have settled in around 16 seconds now.

Speaking of @buoy46012, forecast models have it peaking around 18 feet at 18 seconds, which will definitely be enough to produce some XXL moments for Mavericks as well. The swell builds quickly through the day, but won’t peak until mid-afternoon.

If you’ve been frothing all Summer to dust off your gun, the wait is over. It’s pretty much game time.

A solid XXL swell is making is way across the Northwest Pacific, and should provide massive surf throughout the region on Tuesday. The Nelscott Reef contest has gotten a green light for Tuesday, and other XXL hunters are headed towards Northern California to give Mavericks a go. Here’s how the individual forecast models are currently shaping up…

The Stonewall Banks buoy (20 NM West of Newport, OR) peaks early Tuesday morning at a solid 23.3 feet at 17.5 seconds (278°), then slowly fades through Wednesday.

Down the coast, the Half Moon Bay buoy quickly builds during the day, with 3.3 feet at 21 second forerunners at dawn, building to 18.4 feet at 17.8 seconds (298°) by late afternoon. The surf drops slightly overnight, but still manages to produce 16.7 feet at 16.2 seconds (296°) early Wednesday morning.

Still further South, the Harvest buoy gets in on the action too, with the NW swell building quickly Tuesday evening, then peaking Wednesday morning at 17.7 feet at 17 seconds (302°).

Even the San Clemente Basin gets in on the action, with 8.2 feet at 17.5 seconds (294°) energy arriving mid-day Wednesday and lingering through Thursday.

Oh yeah, and Hawaii’s getting its first legit swell too. If the conditions are right, the HIC Pro will open to some big surf at Sunset, but there’s a chance it could actually be too much. Stay tuned to your local buoys for real-time swell data as the swell unfolds.